Abstract
The complex problem of clinician distress, a prevalent condition found across the spectrum of health professionals, has deleterious effects on quality of healthcare. Multiple factors contribute to this growing problem, including the increasingly complex nature of the management and organization of medical care delivery. This chapter describes Mindful Practice, an empirically studied educational program designed to enhance well-being, quality of care, and flourishing of physicians. A skills-based training program, Mindful Practice uses the technologies of one’s innate capacity for awareness, faculty to reflect on clinical experiences as narratives, and ability to learn one’s own capacities and strengths in the midst of the challenging dynamics experienced in the practice of medicine. Thus, the contemplative practices, narrative medicine, and appreciative inquiry that are woven into this educational experience energizes physicians and other health professionals through real-life relevance, an increased sense of meaning, and a growing capacity for health professionals to connect meaningfully across the divides that exist between individual clinicians and the organizations of health system delivery. Ultimately, clinician distress calls for an ethical mandate that requires courage and commitment, and eventual transformation, personally and collectively.
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Notes
- 1.
All quotes not otherwise noted in references are from: Mead, J. September 30, 2019. Mindful Practice for Medical Clinicians. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGliZssn-Ps&fbclid=IwAR3ns0U8bfdmjD5lt4MV1i10HEdINYLaD89XkJ3t06hUzUbXUexqKLhEgkQ
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Krasner, M.S., Epstein, R. (2020). Mindful Practice: Organizational Change and Health Professional Flourishing Through Cultivating Presence and Courageous Conversations. In: Montgomery, A., van der Doef, M., Panagopoulou, E., Leiter, M.P. (eds) Connecting Healthcare Worker Well-Being, Patient Safety and Organisational Change. Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60998-6_15
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